The invention relates to a method and a device for determining the temperature calibration characteristic curve of a semiconductor component appertaining to power electronics.
Semiconductor components appertaining to power electronics are for example known bipolar transistors with insulated gate electrodes (insulated-gate bipolar transistors, abbreviated to IGBT). Such a component combines the benefits of a bipolar transistor in the form of good on-state behavior and a high blocking voltage with the benefits of a field effect transistor in the form of largely zero-power activation.
Four different basic types are identified in such cases. Depending on the doping of the basic material, n-channel and p-channel power semiconductors can be fabricated. These are divided in each case into a self-conducting and, a self-blocking type. The semiconductor component has the connections collector (C) and emitter (E). The further gate connection (G) serves in all types as a control connection.
To obtain the calibration characteristic curve UCE(T), also referred to as VCE(T), the semiconductor components are passively brought to specific temperature levels and the corresponding UCE voltage is measured there, while a small measurement current Imeas is flowing. The heating up resulting from this process can be ignored.
The passive heating up occurs through an external temperature feed. For this purpose the semiconductor components are brought into an encapsulated heating device and subjected to a constant temperature until such time as the temperature of the semiconductor has reached that of the heating device. A homogeneous temperature distribution obtains in the semiconductor. With the aid of the injected measurement current Imeas a measurement point for the calibration characteristic curve is recorded.
Depending on the number of measurement points needed, a number of temperature levels are thus approached and measured there. The entire process of obtaining the characteristic temperature curve lasts several hours. The calibration process takes place outside the subsequent deployment site. Different structures are used for the measurement and calibration, so that measurement deviations cannot be excluded.
The publication DE 30 37 192 A1 discloses a test method for semiconductor arrangements which delivers characteristic data of the semiconductor at different temperatures in a relatively short time. In this invention the semiconductor arrangement is heated up locally by means of a heating element and the characteristic data is measured at the different temperatures. The test circuit for recording the measurement result remains at room temperature during the method.
Publication DE 38 32 273 A1 contains a method and an arrangement for determining the thermal resistance of IGBT components. For this method the collector-emitter voltage is first measured in the cold state of the IGBT component to be tested, subsequently an electrical power impulse defined in relation to power and duration is applied to the IGBT component and in a second measurement the collector-emitter voltage immediately after the end of the power impulse is determined.